• "...on charges of seditious conspiracy, attempted use of weapons of mass destruction, teaching the use of explosive materials, and possessing a firearm during a crime of violence,"

• The Hutaree members allegedly "planned to kill an unidentified member of local law enforcement and then attack the law enforcement officers who gather in Michigan for the funeral."

• Americans now have as favorable an impression of the tea party movement as they do of the entire Republican Party.
• ...the tea party movement has also brought demands for purity to the GOP family, as well as expressions of intolerance and, at times, destructive behavior. All that was on display last week. GOP leaders were quick to denounce threats of violence against supporters of health care as well as the most repulsive language used against some Democratic lawmakers over the weekend on Capitol Hill. But they were equally quick to criticize the Democrats for what they said was an attempt to brand the entire conservative movement by the actions of a few on the fringe.

"Just recently I have been directly threatened. A bullet was shot through the window of my campaign office in Richmond this week."

Bullet that hit Va. congressman's office random

RICHMOND, Va. — Richmond police say the bullet that hit a window of Republican Virginia Congressman Eric Cantor's office had been randomly fired skyward.

After a tea party organizer published the address of the brother of Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA) in a blog post urging anti-health reform activists to "drop by," someone cut a propane gas line at the house, Politico is reporting.

Now the FBI is investigating what happened at the home near Charlottesville, according to Politico.

The development comes on the heels of at least five instances of vandalism -- mainly in the form smashed doors and windows -- at Democratic offices around the country in the days around the House health care vote Sunday night.

In the Periello case, an activist named Mike Troxel of the Lynchburg Tea Party wrote a blog post telling activists to add a "personal touch" to their anger at Periello -- who voted yes on the health care bill -- by going to his house. But Troxel mistakenly posted the address of Periello's brother.

• The new species, unnamed, occupied Russia's Altai Mountains during a period when early modern humans and Neanderthals were in the same area. Whether its members had contact with those other early people -- or might have interbred with them -- isn't known.

• Per a league source, after the person administering the (Wonderlic) test to Tebow's group had finished, Tebow made a request that the players bow their heads in prayer before taking the 50-question exam. Said one of the other players in response: "Shut the f--k up." Others players in the room then laughed.

Welcome to the NFL.

• ...fiscal reality , coupled with a court-ordered reduction in the prison population, is pouring cold water on old solutions like building more prisons.

Americans by 9 percentage points have a favorable view of the health care overhaul that President Obama signed into law Tuesday, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, a notable turnaround from surveys before the vote that showed a plurality against it.

By 49%-40% those surveyed say it was "a good thing" rather than a bad one that Congress passed the bill. Half describe their reaction in positive terms, as "enthusiastic" or "pleased," while about four in 10 describe it in negative ways, as "disappointed" or "angry."

The largest single group, 48%, calls the bill "a good first step" that should be followed by more action on health care. An additional 4% also have a favorable view, saying the bill makes the most important changes needed in the nation's health care system.

"This is a big fucking deal."
-- Vice President Joe Biden, congratulating President Obama at the health care reform signing ceremony.

• The NBA does not need a gambler like Michael Jordan as an owner. Michael's legacy does not need it either.
• Go Cornell. I love March.
  
• I was wrong like Rahm was; it was a good idea to go for the Senate bill (with minor revisions) on Health Care. 2010 will be an ugly year for Dems anyway, best to have a record to run on. Financial market and immigration reform may not happen. Though I hope the "party of no" can show the Latino community how anti-Hispanic they are by opposing the immigration bill. Racial scapegoating comes natural to them, the more they do it the more they will be paying in the future. There are more and more congressional districts that will be decided by the Hispanic vote in the near future. Show your true colors Republicans!
  

Civil rights icon and veteran Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia, said anti-health care bill protesters Saturday repeatedly yelled the "N" word at him as he left a heath care meeting and walked to the Capitol.

...

The incident was confirmed by Rep. Andre Carson, D-Indiana, who was walking with Lewis at the time. Protesters were yelling, "'kill the bill, kill the bill' and the 'N' word several times," Carson said.

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Missouri, released a statement late Saturday saying he too was called the "N" word as he walked to the Capitol for a vote and that he was spat on by one protestor who was arrested by U.S. Capitol Police. Cleaver declined to press charges against the man, the statement said.

Protesters also hurled anti-gay comments at Rep. Barney Frank, D-Massachusetts, who is openly gay, as he left the same health care meeting that Lewis attended in a House office building.

A CNN producer overheard the word "faggot" yelled at Frank several times in the lobby of the Longworth building. Frank said he heard someone yell "homo" at him.

"If Obamacare passes, that free insurance card that's in people's pockets is going to be as worthless as a Confederate dollar after the war between the states -- the Great War of Yankee Aggression."

--Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA)

"There's no such thing, the thinking man also wants to fuck Megan Fox."

"I think this is part of a broader problem with the Obama administration...We saw it in Honduras. Where rather than monitoring the situation, they let a cowboy president try to act in an extra-constitutional way to violate a fundamental principle in the Constitution, all without having done their homework in advance..."

ABBA, Genesis ready for induction to Rock Hall

Some musical acts that thrived in second lives — ABBA, Genesis and The Hollies — are joining the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

They'll be inducted Monday along with reggae superstar Jimmy Cliff and the raucous Iggy Pop and the Stooges at the annual ceremony at New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Music executive David Geffen and songwriters whose work sold hundreds of millions of copies will join as non-performers.

The four-member Swedish hit machine ABBA quit in 1982 soon after the band's two couples split. They left behind a string of catchy pop songs like "Dancing Queen," "Waterloo" and "Knowing Me Knowing You."

• After the Supreme Court declared that corporations have the same rights as individuals....a corporation is now running for office.

Murray Hill, Inc. is running for office, to show how stupid the Supreme Court decision that Obama derided in SOTU (Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission) is.

• "Until now, corporate interests had to rely on campaign contributions and influence-peddling to achieve their goals in Washington," the candidate, who was unavailable for an interview, said in a statement. "But thanks to an enlightened Supreme Court, now we can eliminate the middle-man and run for office ourselves."

"I beg you, look for the words 'social justice' or 'economic justice' on your church web site," Beck urged his audience. "If you find it, run as fast as you can. Social justice and economic justice, they are code words. Now, am I advising people to leave their church? Yes!"

Today, Beck returned to the subject, insisting that the notion of social justice is "a perversion of the Gospel," and "not what Jesus would say." He wasn't kidding.

The Social Concerns Ministry of Sacred Heart Cathedral is called to engage the parish community in works of social justice and charity, in accordance with the Gospel message and Catholic Social Teaching through awareness, education and action.

• House Democratic leaders banned Wednesday the practice of doling out multimillion-dollar, no-bid contracts to private contractors, a move that will shake up the lobbying industry that has come to rely on securing these so-called earmarks for their corporate clients.

• ...the fiscal 2010 budget included more than 1,000 earmarks to private companies, through which businesses reaped billions of dollars. Most of those earmarks were culled from the Pentagon's annual budget.

Looking down into the construction site covering the 16 acres where the World Trade Center once stood, some might see a place shadowed by death.

But Cheryl Palmer sees a rebirth — and a business opportunity. She's vice president of Club Quarters Inc., the company opening the World Center Hotel — and as far as she's concerned, the property's location on the edge of the site of the Sept. 11 attacks is a selling point.

"People choose to be here because they want to be close to it. They want to feel it, they want to celebrate. They want to remember," she said, standing by an open-air patio overlooking the site. "We have a very accessible view on it."

The hotel, which began taking reservations last month, offers some rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows that open directly onto the construction. Guests and members will have access to the restaurant patio with views of giant cranes, jackhammers and metal scaffolding.

It seems to be the first area hotel to use its proximity to the site as a marketing strategy. The carefully chosen name telegraphs the hotel's location to prospective guests. And visitors to the hotel Web site are greeted by construction photographs and memorial images.

"Obstructionism," for example, only refers to Democratic minorities opposing Republican proposals.

"Tyranny" is found when an elected Democratic majority passes legislation that Republicans don't like.

"Reconciliation" describes a Senate process that Republicans are allowed to use to overcome Democratic "obstructionism."

"Terrorism" refers to acts of political violence committed by people who aren't white guys.

"Bipartisanship" is found when Democrats agree to pass Republican legislation.

"Big government" describes a dangerous phenomenon to be avoided, except in cases relating to reproductive rights or gays.

"Treason" refers to Democrats criticizing a Republican administration during a war.

"Patriotism" refers to Republicans criticizing a Democratic administration during a war.

"Fiscal responsibility" is a national priority related to keeping our deficit in check, which only applies when Republicans are in the minority.

"Parliamentarian" is a seemingly independent official on the Hill who Senate Republicans are allowed to fire when the GOP disapproves of his/her rulings.

Two thousand federal transportation workers will be furloughed without pay on Monday, and the Obama administration said they have a Kentucky senator to blame for it.

Federal reimbursements to states for highway programs will also be halted, the Transportation Department said in a statement late Sunday. The reimbursements amount to about $190 million a day, according to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

The furloughs and freeze on payments were the result of a decision last week by Republican Sen. Jim Bunning to block passage of legislation that would have extended federal highway and transit programs, the department said. Those programs expired at midnight Sunday.